Sunbury City officials flag health‑insurance costs, weigh opt‑out incentives while planning IT and equipment upgrades

Sunbury City council members and staff spent a work‑session segment reviewing preliminary budget estimates, saying health‑insurance costs have not been fully incorporated and could push next year’s budget into a shortfall.

Lisa, a city staff member who compiled the current estimates, said the spreadsheet includes a 3 percent wage factor but not a final health‑insurance figure; participants repeatedly returned to an approximate $400,000 figure as a rough, preliminary estimate of how far the budget could be over once family health coverage is included. "There is good news," one council member said after the updated numbers arrived, "we're not dead broke coming out of the game."

Council members discussed several options to reduce net cost. One option under consideration is offering an incentive for employees to opt out of the city health plan. Participants cited local examples: the transcript notes a municipality that offers about $1,300 a month for employees who decline city…